Flexible electrical cables comprising a plurality of spaced apart side-by-side conductors contained in insulation material are now widely used in many types of electrical and electronic equipment. Connections to these cables are made by connector devices having insulation piercing terminals which are forcibly engaged with the cable to establish electrical contact with the respective conductors. The trend toward ever increasing numbers of conductors in flat flexible cables has demanded that tools for applying connectors to cable be developed which are capable of producing substantial and consistent clamping forces uniformly to the connector parts with each operation of the tool to be sure that suitable electrical contact is made between each conductor and its respective terminal. Moreover, the need to provide for field servicing and repair of electrical equipment using flat cable has also made it desirable to provide a portable easily manipulated, and manually actuated tool capable of generating the high forces necessary to apply the connector to the cables.
Furthermore, the close spacing of conductors in high density flat cables has made necessary the provision of a tool which is capable of accurate alignment of the connector parts with respect to each other and with respect to the cable to assure that each conductor is placed in suitable electrical contact with its intended terminal. The above mentioned desiderata as well as other features of a tool for applying connectors to multiconductor cables are provided for with the present invention.
Apparatus of the general type disclosed herein is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,956,811 and 4,005,516.